Ranch Life – Neil Meili

Neil Meili

Zen Cowboy Poet & Freelance Philosopher

Skip to content

Home
Contact
Neil’s Books
Poems
Kind Words
A Neil a Day Poems

Category: Ranch Life

Only One Boss in the Corral

Audio Recordings, Cattle, Cows, Farm, Ranch Life / November 26, 2022 / by neil_2015_wordpress@neilmeili.com

If you're in the corral at roundup time
you better be ready to think or listen fast

When half a ton of fear-blind beef
has a horn lined up with your ass
and the boss says jump you jump

Democracy is a thing of beauty
but there’s a time and a place for that

Old Injuries

Audio Recordings, Personal Growth, Ranch Life / November 25, 2022 / by neil_2015_wordpress@neilmeili.com

Living with
what didn't kill you outright

Sayings like
it makes you stronger

little comfort in the morning

Going Pro

Audio Recordings, Ranch Life, Remembering / tagged Practice / November 24, 2022 / by neil_2015_wordpress@neilmeili.com

At thirteen I was a rodeo pro
cause I was getting paid to ride

A farmer south of Mossbank
had a two-year-old he wanted rode
and I would ride three hours a week

Didn’t want a saddle on one so young
so the mare and I would play a game

She would run fast and stop faster
and I would end up on the ground
and get up and on and do it again

Since I am getting paid
by the hour not seconds staying on
she gets to have her horse-laugh fun
while I polish life-skills of tuck and roll

Thrown

Audio Recordings, Ranch Life, Relationships / November 23, 2022 / by neil_2015_wordpress@neilmeili.com

You know that old expression

You threw me when you said that

Well, you threw me when you said that

I was on a quarter horse once
turning a barrel like only a quarter horse can
when the cinch broke

Cetrifugally flung, I hun
a long moment speeding lateral in the air
before I remembered
how to roll up and hit the ground
without being hurt too bad

You really threw me when you said that
I didn't have time to remember to roll

For Mary Who Loves Horses

Audio Recordings, Cattle, Cows, Farm, Ranch Life, Relationships / tagged Boundries / November 22, 2022 / by neil_2015_wordpress@neilmeili.com

I have ridden the fence line
without believing in fences

I have been one with the movement of horse
the strength and speed of horse
the grace of horse and the soul of horse

I have been one with the wind
and the high rolling hills
and the sky

I have stepped down
with my hands filled with staples and pliers

For the welfare of cattle and neighbours
who still have need of believing
in fences

Horses are Dangerous Critters

Audio Recordings, Poems about Poetry, Ranch Life / tagged Death, Horses, Luck / November 21, 2022 / by neil_2015_wordpress@neilmeili.com

Make no mistake
every ride you are taking
reins and your life in your hands

Who can forget Bonnie Blue Butler
breaking hearts of Scarlett and Rhett
Christopher Reeve thrown like kryptonite
or Maxentius thrown and drowned in the Tiber

And the time Pinto Pete
steps in a prairie badger hole
while running full speed down the hill
and ass over teakettle does a full forward flip
ending up standing, me beside him reins in hand

Sometimes you live to write the poem
sometimes someone else will have to do it for you

1 Reply

Herding Poems

Audio Recordings, Cattle, Cows, Family, Farm, Poems about Poetry, Ranch Life / November 19, 2022 / by neil_2015_wordpress@neilmeili.com

Herding Poems
(for Patricia)

My father had sons
to help him herd the cows

I have a daughter
to help me herd the poems

He had ten thousand acres
we have all the acres of the world

His won ribbons at the feeder show
ours, when entered, won some prizes too

He would stand for hours
to watch them feeding and grown fat

I sometimes get out a book and do just that

All They Survey

Audio Recordings, Cattle, Cows, Family, Farm, Ranch Life / tagged Appreciation, Pride / November 18, 2022 / by neil_2015_wordpress@neilmeili.com

My father
would stand for hours
just looking at his cows

Like God leaning
on a rail fence in heaven
pleased with his creation

Too Crowded

Audio Recordings, Cattle, Cowboy Poetry, Cows, Family, Ranch Life, Travel / tagged Migration / November 6, 2022 / by neil_2015_wordpress@neilmeili.com

My folks took some time off in the sixties from their Saskatchewan ranching and traveled down through South Texas
One day they stopped to talk to an old cowboy sittin and a wittlin on a rickety ranch porch
When he found out where they were from he said "Say - do you know a man up there by the name of Bill Prior?"
They said "Yes - he's an old bachelor who lives up past our north pasture, ,why do you ask?"
"Well" he said, "about 1928 Bill and I are out lookin for some strays when we see another rider coming over the furthest hill"

Bill says to me "It's getting too damn crowded down here, I'm heading for Canada"
"He turned his horse North and I haven't seen him since"

2 Replies

I Never Saw My Mother on Horseback

Audio Recordings, Cattle, Cows, Family, Farm, Ranch Life, Remembering / November 5, 2022 / by neil_2015_wordpress@neilmeili.com

I understand that
she used to ride to school
but she was little and it was a farm
and somehow that didn't seem to count

When she was about 75 she told me about going with Dad to the far end of the ranch on a beautiful day a long time ago to help round up some strays

She said that she liked it a lot
and couldn't remember why she didn't do it more

Post navigation

← Older posts

Search

Search for:

Social

View zencowboypoet’s profile on Facebook
View @meilineil’s profile on Twitter
View neilmeili’s profile on Instagram

Neil’s Latest Book Available in Paperback and Large Print Edition though Amazon worldwide

Want More Poetry? Sign Up Here.

Latest Poetry

Narcissus in the West
Narcissus Reflects
Masking up for Blaise Pascal
Only One Boss in the Corral
Old Injuries

Recent Comments

Ken Christopher on Horses are Dangerous Critters
Ken Christopher on Ten Generations of Butterflies
Ken on Too Crowded
Ken on Blood Moon 2022 Election
Jay Silzer on Too Crowded

Categories

Audio Recordings
Cattle
Cowboy Poetry
Cows
Environment
Family
Farm
Flight
Haiku
Limerick
Manure
Nature
News
Nostalgia
Personal Growth
Pilots
Poems about Poetry
Ranch Life
Relationships
Remembering
String Too Short To Save
Travel
Uncategorized

Tags

9-11 Aboriginal Aging Alcohol Art Art & Artists Autumn Birds Childhood Children Covid19 Cowboys Death Dogs Dreams Faith Family Farm Farming Fear First Nations Friendship Gratitude Grief Hope Horses Iraq Love Mother Music Nature Poetry Politics Prairie Psychology Ranch Life Regret Religion sensuality Solitude Spring Voice Dialogue War Winter Wisdom

Archives

Meta

Log in
Entries feed
Comments feed
WordPress.org

©2015 Neil Meili. All Right Reserved.

Theme Designed By ThemeVan | Powered by WordPress